83 Articles
CAIRO: The Coptic Orthodox Church has replaced the nine reasons for divorce originally listed in the 1938 bylaw with only two: adultery and change of religion. The church also asked the government to issue a personal status law for Christians, something the state has been refusing to do since 1978. The problem goes back to …
CAIRO: Four Coptic jewelry shop workers were killed Wednesday and one was injured after being shot by two men in wigs and sunglasses, in a rare act of bloodshed in the capital. The victims have been identified as Makram Azer, the owner of the store, as well as Hemaya Makram, Amir Khalil and Boulis Helmy, …
CAIRO: Under the new child law, which the Shoura Council passed last week, performing female circumcision is punishable by three months to two years in prison and a fine of LE 1,000 to LE 5,000. In addition, the law raises the legal age of marriage to 18 for both men and women. It also makes …
CAIRO: Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of Saint Mark the Evangelist, returned on Thursday to Cairo after a short trip to the US to undergo a quick medical check-up in Cleveland, Ohio. Hundreds of Copts were waiting him in the cathedral, shouting We love you Pope The Pope was keen to …
CAIRO: The Ministry of Interior has yet to implement a court ruling that allows Bahais to leave the religious affiliation field on birth certificates and identity cards blank. On Jan. 29 Cairo’s Administrative Court had granted members of Egypt’s Bahai community the right to obtain identity papers without identifying their religious affiliation, placing a “dash …
CAIRO: Students from the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) staged protests Wednesday at universities across Egypt, against jail sentences handed down to 25 members of the group who were tried by a military court. The trial of 40 members of the MB ended Tuesday with sentences ranging from three to 10 years for 25 of the accused …
CAIRO: The Citizens for Development Foundation (CDF) held a debate on Monday over the controversial child law, which is still being considered by the People’s Assembly (PA). The workshop, which was attended by both journalists and human rights activists, addressed the most debatable provisions of the draft law proposed by the National Council for Motherhood …
CAIRO: It was 3 am when people started showing up at Al-Daher Bakery, which begins work at 5 am. “I am used to coming as early as I can to get a place in the line before it gets crowded, said Samir Younis, a public employee and father of four. “I can’t avoid buying subsidized …
CAIRO: A group of female members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) demonstrated yesterday in front of the National Council for Women to protest government restrictions on registration for local council elections. Six of the protestors had failed to submit their papers in Alexandria, while the others were the wives and daughters of MB members who …
CAIRO: The Ministry of Social Solidarity announced that it will be subsidizing better-quality bread in an effort to reduce demand on the 5-piaster loaf. The better quality bread, usually sold for 20-25 piasters a loaf, will be subsidized and sold for 10 piasters. This comes after months of escalating discontent about the scarcity of subsidized …
CAIRO: In a landmark ruling by Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court Saturday, 12 Christian converts to Islam who wished to convert back to Christianity were allowed to change their religious affiliation in their national identification cards. Lawyers representing the Christian converts welcomed the decision, calling out “hail justice after the decision was announced. “This ruling is …
CAIRO: Esteemed journalist and columnist Magdy Mehana lost his battle with liver cancer Friday after a long struggle with the disease. Mehana, a staunch liberal who was accredited for his objectivity, wrote a daily column for Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper. He was also the host of a show on Dream TV where he put many on …
CAIRO: A Cairo court on Tuesday postponed till Jan. 29 the final verdict on the case of Mohamed Hegazy, a Muslim who converted to Christianity. Hegazy’s lawyer had requested a freeze on the case to complete legal procedures, but while the public attorney had agreed to the request, the 20 lawyers spearheading an apostasy case …
CAIRO: The court session of a convert filing a lawsuit against the Ministry of Interior for refusing to change his religion from Islam to Christianity on his national ID card, turned chaotic when 20 lawyers threatened and insulted the plaintiff’s lawyers Rawda Ahmad Saeed and Adel Rafie. The police interfered to protect the plaintiff Mohamed …
CAIRO: Renowned Egyptian literary figure and historian Younan Labib Rizk passed away at 7 am on Monday after battling with chronic heart disease for years. The funeral was held at the Virgin Mary Church in Nasr City and was attended by Head of the Shoura Council Safwat Al Sherif, representatives of the Presidency, and several …
CAIRO: The general prosecutor is investigating an attack on Abo Fana Monastery in Malawi city, allegedly committed by a group of more than 20 armed Muslims who destroyed eight hermitages and injured a monk, Father Mina told Daily News Egypt. Malawi city is in El Minya, 300 km south of Cairo. “They attacked us with …
CAIRO: Youssef Chahine and Khaled Youssef’s “Heya Fawda? or “Is it Chaos? has succeeded not only in breaking the record of Chahine’s box office returns, but also in stirring political discussions in Egypt. While some opposition writers view the film as a call for revolution, government allies interpret it as a call for chaos. The …
CAIRO: Natalie is an American student who was visiting Egypt two years ago. She went back to the United States with a positive impression of Arab and Egyptian culture, which encouraged her to return to learn Arabic at the American University in Cairo (AUC). During her second extended visit to Egypt, the positive image was …
CAIRO: Without a personal computer and through Internet cafés, 22-year-old Al-Azhar University student Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman, known as Kareem Amer, created a blog under the name “Kareem Amer. The blog focused on criticizing Islam, Al-Azhar education and the President. During sectarian strife in Alexandria he supported the Copts. But being unconventionally outspoken in a …
CAIRO: The Coptic Orthodox church held a four-day conference in Saint Mina Monastery near Alexandria on Dec. 2 to discuss church affairs, Bishop Armia, assistant to Pope Shenouda III, told Daily News Egypt, but refused to comment or give more details. However, according to a source who preferred to remain anonymous, the conference discussed the …
CAIRO: The Administrative Court at State Council adjourned Mohamed Higazy’s case to Jan. 15. Gamal Eid, Higazy’s lawyer and the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo), asked the judge for a continuance on Tuesday to allow him more time to study all the documents. Higazy filed a lawsuit against the Ministry …
CAIRO: Thousands of Copts celebrated with Egyptian Pope Shenouda the 36th anniversary of his papacy on Wednesday. The church congregation was worried about the Pope’s health following his hospitalization for five days last week. But to the relief of the attendees, Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope of The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and …
CAIRO: After receiving the Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy, former Managing Director and publisher of Al-Masry Al-Youm Hesham Kassem returned from Washington last week. During his trip, he met with President George W. Bush at the White House. Angry with the changes in America’s approach to pushing democracy in Egypt, Kassem returned …
CAIRO: Editor in chief of Al-Ahali newspaper Farida Al-Na’ash suggested postponing the protest non-publishing day from Oct. 7 to Oct. 14 in an official memo she sent to the Head of the Press Syndicate, Galal Aref. The editors of 15 Egyptian independent and opposition newspapers had agreed not to publish on Oct. 7 in protest …
CAIRO: After receiving the Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy, former Managing Director and Publisher of Al-Masry Al-Youm Hesham Kassem returned from Washington last week. During his trip, he met with President George W. Bush at the White House. Angry with the changes in America’s approach to pushing democracy in Egypt, Kassem returned …
CAIRO: Members of the Democratic Front Party won t take part in the upcoming Shoura Council elections, due next month. Member of Parliament and party member Mohamed Anwar El Sadat explained that time limitations are the reason behind the decision. The party got the approval of the Political Parties Committee of the Shoura Council last …
CAIRO: The political parties committee at the Shoura Council officially approved the founding of the Democratic Front Party yesterday. Osama El Ghazali Harb, the appointed member of the Shoura Council and the chief editor of the International Politics magazine and Yehia El Gamal, law professor at Cairo University and former minister, had filed a request …
CAIRO: In a meeting with the health committee of the People’s Assembly Grand Mufti Aly Gomaa issued a fatwa permitting human organ transfer from the dead to the living. A draft law regulating the process was shelved for years awaiting a clear cut opinion about permissibility and morality of organ transplant. The meeting of the …
CAIRO: Exchange of criticism between Coptic secularists and leaders of the Coptic Orthodox Church marked the second Conference for Coptic Seculars that ended last week. The conference, boycotted by the Coptic Orthodox Church last year, didn’t achieve much progress this time around in bringing the Church closer to secular Coptic thinkers, who accused the Church …
CAIRO: Worshippers in six Naga Hammady churches protested against six priests who have filed a complaint against Archbishop Kyrollos, who is currently facing a church trial. A church committee comprising of bishops and headed by Archbishop Bishoy- secretary of the Holy Synod- finished its investigation on Wednesday into the complaint filed by these priests accusing …